Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Monday, June 10, 2013

Just finished The Collected Works Vol.1 by Scott McClanahan. This book was just so great, it reminded me of when I read Sam Pink for the first time. Scott writes short stories about life in living in West Virginia, but they are so much more than that. Sam Pink also writes the afterward to this book if that does anything for you. Here is one of the shorter stories in the book so you can get a feel:

The Chainsaw Guy:
"You can see all kinds of weird shit in Rainelle. One time I was driving past the welfare apartments in town when I looked up and saw something that changed my world.
I was with my mother and we were going over the railroad tracks when I looked up and saw this guy in a red sweat suit riding a 12 speed bicycle as fast as he could down the hill.
What was even stranger was that the 12 speed bike didn't even have a chain on it. And what was even stranger than that was that he was carrying a chainsaw in his right hand. Not only was he riding a bike and carrying a chainsaw at the same time, but get this -- the chainsaw was running.
We sat at the railroad tracks and I pointed to the man on the hill and asked my mother, "What in the hell is that guy doing anyway?" My mother looked up at the guy and then she said, "I don't know."
We rolled up over the train tracks and on down the road. I twisted my head around and kept watching the guy riding his bike and carrying a chainsaw. I asked again, "Why is that guy carrying a chainsaw?" My mother just shook her head and said, "I don't know. I really don't.
And by this time we were driving on down the road, and I couldn't see him anymore. I knew there was something about him that meant something, and if I ever found out what it was -- then maybe I'd finally know the meaning of my life."

That's just a taste, there are longer, way better stories in the book. Buy this shit.